It's going to end up like DVD+-R. Where both formats exist and we have duel players. Where the majority will be on HD-DVD since it's cheaper but ever the extra space is needed and sony ever finishes the 50Gb then they will release on blu-ray

Um, BS Police? do the math, 8% of the worlds population is 512 MILLION!!! HELLO!!! thats alot of people! thats more people than theyre in America and Canada combined.

And p.s. its got 15GB's to 50GB's (HD-DVD is 15GB or 45GB if triple layered and Bluray is 25GB & 50GB Dual-layered) therefore with that extra space you can run the movies in 1080P (which is 1920x1080 non-interlaced [or progressive if you prefer] non compressed. (well supposedly). The pits on it are much smaller than current DVD's and thats how they get higher capacity on them and you need a much higher wavelength (smaller/shorter waves ) laser. Hence the blue laser (just look at the electromagnetic spectrum ultraviolet/blue is shorter wavelengths and red is a longer wavelength.

Right now on standard DVD's you have 480P (640x480 non-interlaced) and its MPEG-2 compressed

At their best, both BD and HD-DVD produce a picture equal to the best High-definition broadcasts you have seen. It can be stunning, but usually it depends on the camera used - if the camera was also a high-def camera, the images look better. Some films and clips I have seen look real nice....but others....

At their worst, they look barely better than DVD and are not worth the price. Since neither HD-DVD or BD looked beter than the other when viewing "WOW" images (the kind that make you double take and stare at the display) I would have a real hard time buying a stand-alone BD at 2X the price of the HD-DVD stand- alone.

PS3 buyers will be happy with theirs (if they use a game machine to watch movies that is) and anyone interested can get a cheap add-on for XB360 if they want to go that route.

The format "war" and the console "war" will have about the same resolution - people who like to waste cash will go the Sony route and pay more to have the same performance as everyone else gets for about 1/2 the price.

In the end, high-definition movies is a great thing for HT entusiasts, but for main-stream folks who don't even have an HDTV yet, it is a complete waste of money. They are both going to be niche products for at least the next 5 years. When stand alone players hit that magic $199 price, then the race is really on. PS3's added Blu-Ray player won't be enough to ignite a mass adoption of the format (IMO).

Hi def is GREAT, hi def DVDs are even better, but I think its too soon. SD-DVD has only recently buried VHS for good, to become the defacto format; its an obvious step-up in PQ over VHS tapes - REGARDLESS of what TV you have.

Next-gen DVDs, however, require an HDTV for ANY improvement over DVD, and an 1080p HDTV to see either format at their best.

They should've waited until HDTV had at least 40-45% market penetration to release a brand new format.

IMO, Microsoft was VERY prescient to use the tried-and-true- DVD-9 in 360, very smart.

BTW, I have a 300 dvd collection and I'll be damned if I'll replace them all for a looooong time.

As much as I would love one of those and roumours that its more consumer friendly (as in cheaper) than most think I dont see it coming out in the next five years or at least me affording it so BR/HD can hold me over for now.

I just want a way to record my HD shows and watch it in 1080i on my 1080p compatable TV. Is that too much to ask for...huh Sony/Toshiba? I dont care who wins just give it to me. NOW! Not tommorrow not October NOW!

PS anybody that can honestly say there is no significant difference between DVD and HD is on some serious drugs!

I understand that FQ but the point being is that there are people willing to spend the money (PS3 asides) look at HDDVD all unit are sold out. I dont mind paying $500 to record HD content, mind you thats not possible yet but I think it will be by the end of the year.

i'm not downplaying your desire. i was talking about your end statement. i work for direct tv now. i actually just installed an hd setup today. you can surely tell the difference (unless you have a tiny tv), but still the majority of people don't own hd sets, and might not anytime soon. i think progressive scan on my 17" lcd monitor is just fine. i could care less about blu-ray, and i'm not getting the add-on for my 360. i don't speak for everyone, but the #'s show there are a lot of homes with no hd tvs. direct tv worked a deal with microsoft to where you will be able to stream content, on demand content, and hd content, so i would think your wish may come true soon.

360 will never need more space for it's games because HD cut scenes are what require a lot of space but a lot of games these day are going to be made with out cut scenes ( Half life 2), and if they still used them I do not think people will mind changing the DVD once during the 15 hours game play ( games are getting shorter and shorter)

realtime cutscenes use less space than cg cutscenes. i think the only issue is japanese developed games since they prefer generally to go the cg route. if rumble in the controller isn't a big deal, then why should people care about switching a disc? they're both old school, and i had plenty of 3 and 4 disc playstation games. you have to switch the disc every time you play a different game, it's the same amount of time. they just place the switch in a place where it doesn't drastically affect the experience.

Toshiba seems to be backing down, Blu-Ray is about to be the next gen format, hands down. Its gonna be so awesome watching movies on my HDTV in high def. You guys are forgetting about the High Def audio that will be available on the disc, not just visual enhancements. Also, they will be able to put much more content on the discs therefore making it a much more interactive experience with the movies. For all the people that say, DVD is good enough, you were probably the same people that said VHS is good enough.

Toshiba is not backing down. It's that they would rather have a unified format so that customers will start buying it. With HD-DVD and BD customers will be catious on which one to get since either one might be gone in a couple years. Sony on the other hand has a lot riding on Blu-ray, they are losing a lot of ground in the A/V field because of Samsung so they need a sure way to make money. And thats where blu-ray comes into play, sony gets money for every blu-ray disk that is sold since they created the format. HD-DVD on the other hand is pretty much open like the DVD format.